No Third Chances
by setchan-1995
Summary: "I don't believe in third chances. I only know that if you're given a second then you better make it worth it." Yuri. Mild AU.


It has to be clarified that the idea is mine and mine alone. For those who have not seen the series or read the manga nothing that happens in this story has to do with the real SK.

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**No third chances**

Chapter 1

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"Ah, Kazama-kun. Have you already read today's newspaper?" Tomoe asked as she spotted the blonde entering the cafe where they usually shared breakfast before going to work.

Kazama collapsed in an adverse wooden chair and looked at Tomoe in sheer confusion. Tomoe just smiled mischievously and handed the paper that had been resting on her lap, not saying another word.

The blonde looked at her strangely and took slightly messy sheaf of papers. She didn't need to look too hard to find what Tomoe wanted to show her. It was all on the first page of the newspaper.

_Murasame strikes again!_

_Murasame Sumika, 23, showed her courage and tenacity again by defeating Olympic champion Ameki Seiyu, 25, in a friendly fight promoted by the World Karate Association. The fight took place yesterday at three in the afternoon in Canada, where Ameki Murasame and have been training for a year with famed martial arts master Kwan Soi._

_Once started the fight, all bets were in favor of the champion, but this never seemed to deter Murasame, who, with precise and decisive blows, fought neck to neck with Ameki, finally defeating world champion._

_Ameki tells us about-_

Kazama did not need to read more than that.

"They say that Murasame is returning this month to train at her family's dojo." Tomoe spoke softly as she took a sip of her herbal tea.

"Ah..." Was Kazama's only response.

She really didn't know what to think about this. Sumika went away shortly after leaving her college studies, without any explanation of anything to anyone. Kazama refused to talk to her, offended by the lack of trust of her best friend. To this day she still regretted her immature and insolent decision. She didn't have any right to stick her nose in Sumika's life like she was trying to at the time.

"You can't keep going like this, Kazama-kun. I think it's about time you see each other, don't you think?" Kazama sighed as she rubbed her temple.

"I want to see her, Tomoe-chan. You know that more than anyone." This time Tomoe sighed, lowering her cup of tea.

"From your tone of voice and your facial gesture I can definitely say for sure that a 'but' is coming after that sentence, am I right?"

"It's just that- "

"That's not better. "

"Can I talk or should I send it to you by letter?" Kazama snapped, mocking her friend.

"It depends. How many arguments for not seeing Murasame does it have?" Kazama blushed slightly and looked away toward a crooked picture hanging on the wall. It was horrible.

"I'm not sure about her wanting to see me." Kazama whispered remorsefully as she sighed.

"What if I told you that Murasame probably thinks exactly the same as you? " Tomoe spoke with some annoyance in her voice. She was really tired of meddling between her two friends . All she wanted to do was go home and lie down with her girlfriend. Was it too much to ask for?

"I think that she'd call you crazy." Another voice announced from a few feet away of them. Kazama and Tomoe smiled at the arrival of the third musketeer of their midday.

"Akemiya, you look awful." Tomoe said gracefully while looking at the state in which her friend was. The tousled hair and upside down skirt clearly indicated that the lady-boy had fallen asleep again, although to many this could have been a clear indication that the girl-boy had engaged in other 'activities' in his nights.

"Someday I will be able to say the same about you, Tomoe-san." Akemiya sat in the third seat and ordered a strawberry tea. "From what I see you've already told her about Murasame-san. You could have waited for me, you know?" His tone was indignant.

"I could not. Besides, you're the one who is late, so you will have to deal with it." Akemiya just stuck his tongue out as his only answer.

"Not my fault. The director made us stay up late."

It had been five years Akemiya had debuted as the first lady-boy to work for a major magazine, and it was already three years since he had publicly stated that he wanted to be referred to as a woman, but keep his male name. Now he was about to debut as the first lady-boy in history to star in a commercial film, under the command of a famous film director.

"Doing what exactly?" Asked Tomoe with dual intent, which was immediately caught by Akemiya.

"Nothing much. Apparently we will have a special guest. A friend of the director's whom she met on one of her trips in Thailand or something." Akemiya did not seem to give the matter much importance.

"That's pretty rare, your boss is not exactly the friendly type." Akemiya laughed, his voice almost too feminine.

"That old lime is a social disaster." Everyone laughed at the Akemiya's occurrence.

"It can not be that bad, Akemi-chan." Kazama said, receiving two amusing looks from her friends.

"Someday you will meet her, and then you will regret having said that stupidity." Tomoe said as she checked the time on her wristwatch. "At least I did when I was introduced to her at a dinner. An interesting character, no doubt, but I'm not dying to see her again any time soon."

"I still think you are a exaggerating." Kazama waved her off before thanking the girl who had brought her usual coffee.

"Like you and Murasame, is not it?" Tomoe smiled again as Kazama blushed profusely.

"I thought we were done with that topic." Tomoe and Akemiya stared at her, letting her know that they were very far from being over it.

"Why won't you just call her? Knowing her, she would swim the Atlantic Ocean just to come and see you for five measly minutes." Tomoe spoke, enjoying every second of the blush on the cheeks of her blonde friend.

"Isn't it easier to take the Pacific?" Akemiya asked as he rested his chin in one hand and crossed his legs carefully, so as not to ruin his clothes.

"Yes, but Murasame doesn't think when it comes to our Kazama." Tomoe chuckled when the blonde hid her face in her hands, embarrassed by her friends' comments.

"I'm going to work." Kazama took her coffee in a huge sip and slung her purse over her shoulder in a rush to get out of there as fast as possible.

"Do not think for a moment that you're going to escape so easily. I'll pick you up at work, and we'll talk seriously about this stupidity of yours." Kazama did not seem very happy with the decision, but said nothing about it and went to the office.

"Those two will wear me out, I swear-" Tomoe sighed and allowed herself to relax in her chair.

Akemiya just smiled behind his cup of tea.

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"Who would have thought that the great Iron Fist Murasame was afraid of boats?" A graceful gray-eyed blonde said happily as she watched her partner reeling from nausea in her room.

"Yeah, well, I do not know about it until yesterday." Sumika said while holding her dizzy head in her hands, which were trembling slightly. "And where the Hell did that name come from?" The blonde laughed when Sumika made a face.

"Don't think that you came out unscathed from the press, Mika." The blonde crossed her arms, determined not to help her friend."Those vampires named you like that shortly after winning the fight the other day." Sumika just nodded slightly, clearly unimpressed. It was just another name on the stack.

"Well, I think I'll go to the gym and train a bit." Sumika let her see a little smile behind her pale face.

"Does it still hurt to be the second best?" The blonde glared at her and, without thinking twice, threw a nearby pillow.

"Mark my words, Mika. I _will_ beat you someday." Sumika just laughed behind the pillow, enjoying the drama that her friend was creating.

"You better hurry or age will catch up with you." Another pillow fell on the face of the black-haired woman.

"Do not overdo it, Mika." The blonde said as she crossed his arms once again and made a little pout. Sumika just smiled again and closed her eyes, hoping that the nausea would stop once and for all. It had been almost two days, there were only three more to go.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sumika just stammered an inconsistency and gestured with her hand to the blonde not to worry.

"No, I mean, how do you feel about this 'going back to Japan' thing?" Sumika slowly opened her eyes, thinking about how to answer that loaded question.

"I'm not sure. It's been five years since I've seen my family or my friends. At least not in person." The blonde Sumika approached and sat beside her, looking at the woman with obvious disbelief.

"You know who I am talking about, Mika." Sumika just ducked her head away, nausea forgotten. "She has the right to know why you left, Mika." Sumika finally looked into her eyes, the intensity frolicking in them almost surprising the blonde.

"Seiyu, Kazama always clarified that she only sees me as a good friend, and now I can't tell if I could be even that." The brunette pressed her lips together. The thought of Kazama would not wanting to see her chilled her blood. Although, having gone away as she had done... he deserved whatever Kazama threw at her.

"But, Mika, that was five years ago! You never know what your future holds." The blonde said with confidence. Sumika deserved her happy ending after all she had fought. Leaving for a completely different country and leaving a completely alien life was not an easy feat to accomplish. Sumika was had not only been able to get used to her new life in America, but she had also managed to conquer the world of karate without even trying. From the frozen lands of Alaska to Argentina's 'end of the world', Sumika was recognized as one of the best karatekas of the decade. Not to mention the fame she had acquired as a representative of her country. In Asia, she was adored by many and admired by most. European sponsors jumped on her, and more than once they had offered her half a fortune to fight for them.

But on more than one occasion, Sumika refused to work with them. Only a few times she had agreed to work with someone deeply connected with the commercial and capitalist industry, and when she did it was always caring people that were often seen as... peculiar for other people. But thanks to this system Sumika was very resourceful.

"Whatever my future is, I don't think Kazama will be in it. Not like I'd like her to." One of Sumika's defects that Seiko knew so well was her negativity when it came to her love. Or at least when it came to her own love life. A defect that always managed to get Seiyu crazy.

"You will not know that until you tell her." The blonde covered her mouth before she could interrupt her. "We will be in Japan for a year. The least I expect from you is to go back and talk to your little love-dove. And you better not piss me off!" The blonde released her mouth, but not before sending her friend a defiant look, warning of the dangers lurking if she dared to question her again.

"Well, now that that little matter is done with resolved, what do you say we go and eat something?" Sumika paled, and once again plunged into a world of dizziness and nausea.

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Well, that was the first chapter. Hope you like it. This is a rather poor translation to English, but it will do for now.


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